New Report Examines Gender Pay Gaps in Türkiye’s Fashion Manufacturing Sector
By Bosphorus News Staff
A new insights paper by Global Fashion Agenda examines pay equity in Türkiye’s fashion manufacturing industry, highlighting structural gender disparities in wages, leadership representation and career progression across one of the country’s most strategic export sectors.
Titled Unpacking Pay Equity in Fashion: Türkiye, the report places the country at the centre of European supply chains while arguing that equal pay principles are not consistently reflected in workplace realities.
A Strategic Sector Under Pressure
Türkiye’s textile and apparel industry directly contributes an estimated 7.8% to national GDP and employs nearly 960,000 formally registered workers, excluding informal labour. More than a quarter of European brands list Türkiye as a key sourcing location.
The sector has faced sustained pressure since 2022. Inflation exceeded 75% in 2024, production costs rose sharply and more than 300,000 jobs were reportedly lost between 2022 and 2025. Although nominal wages increased, the report notes that these rises largely tracked minimum wage adjustments rather than real improvements in purchasing power.
Understanding the Gender Pay Gap
Across the European Union, the unadjusted gender pay gap averages around 12%. Estimates for Türkiye range between 15.6% and 17.4%.
The report emphasises that headline pay gap figures do not necessarily indicate unequal pay for the same role. Much of the disparity stems from occupational segregation. Women are concentrated in lower-paid production roles, while men are more likely to occupy higher-paid technical, logistics and supervisory positions.
In assessed facilities, women account for roughly 43% of production workers but only 20% of supervisors and 18% of managers or owners.
Leadership Gaps and Structural Barriers
Representation gaps extend to corporate governance. Only 17% of surveyed companies reported having a woman as sole administrator, and just 18% of companies with a board reported a female CEO. One-third indicated that they had no women on their board.
Limited childcare access, unequal household responsibilities and restricted access to training are identified as major barriers to advancement. Motherhood is described as a turning point. Thirty-two percent of survey respondents acknowledged that women’s careers are significantly affected by childbirth, compared with 12% for men.
Although Turkish Labour Law prohibits gender-based pay discrimination, the report finds that structural inequalities persist through wage grading systems and job allocation patterns.
Informality and Subcontracting Risks
Subcontracting remains widespread, particularly among small workshops. Informal employment rates in smaller operations can reach 30–50%, disproportionately affecting women and migrant workers.
Large exporters integrated into international supply chains are more likely to monitor gender-disaggregated pay data and implement formal equality policies. Visibility declines further down subcontracting tiers.
European Regulatory Pressure
Türkiye is not directly bound by EU pay transparency legislation. However, new European rules on wage reporting and corporate sustainability are shaping expectations for manufacturers supplying EU-based brands. Transparency and due diligence requirements are increasingly influencing how pay practices are assessed across supply chains.
The report argues that sustaining Türkiye’s position as a key manufacturing hub will require progress on wage transparency, formal employment and measurable reductions in gender-based disparities.
***The full report, Unpacking Pay Equity in Fashion: Türkiye, is available via Global Fashion Agenda.